Golf club



March 13, 1928. 1,662,712

c. F. MENSING GOLF CLUB Filed Au 1. 1927 IN V EN TOR. UarZ F/Pfe iZfiL/LOC CARL IQIENSING, OI'

Patented Mar. 13, 1.928. (UNITED STATES 1,662,712 PATENT OFFICE.

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Application m An a: 1, 1927. Serial No. am.

This invention relates to golf clubs. Heretofore the rims requisite of a club for driving a ball llas been that the shaft should be relatively stiff and possess but little whip, as excessive whip or limberness has heretofore been considered objectionable on the theory that it would almost inevitably result in inadequatedriving power and in uncertainness and inaccurateness of direction, and especially objectionable on the theory it would almost invariably put slice on the ball and thereby cause the latter to describe the parabolic curve to the right which shortens the drive, and for that and other reasons is an abomination in the eye of the golfer.

I have found by practical tests, in many hands, that a club shaft of abnormal whip or limberness for its full length or at least from the club head to the grip, if swung smoothly and rhythmically is not open to the objections mentioned, but on the other hand, can be swung on the down stroke, with as much speed at the moment of impact on the ball, as a club having the conventional wood or steel shaft, and drive the ball as regards distance, equally as well, and enable any one, having only rudimentary knowledge of the conventional stroke or swing, to acquire after a few trials, the ability to drive more consistently straighter in the direction desired, than he can with the ordinary driver.'

This is so because the extreme whip or limberness will be so sensed or felt by the layer,'that he is subconsciously restrained rom seizing, or from suddenly or spasmodically changing the direction or force of his swing which faults, common to most golfers, are mainly responsible for poor driving.

The evolution of the club is an outgrowth of the desire of an average golfer to acquire the art of swinging a club in good golfing form, that is, smoothly and rhythmically, as experience and observation had convinced him that only b such proper swinging could a player be ab e to consistently control the 5 club, disposed in horizontal position as direction which the ball would take.

The original thought therefore was to produce a club which would be found peculiarly appropriate for use in teaching the golf stroke and in practicing the same. The use of a club of this kind for actual play on the links was not initially contemplated, as it was thought the pre-conceived and generally 'entertainednotion that a club must be pracfundamentally sound, and it was only after such club was made with a regular driving head, that the idea of using it as a driver occurred. After determining that it met all requlrements as regards smooth and rhythmic swinging, it was tried as a driver and the notion that a slice would inevitably result was not only completely dissipated but it was found that it gave better control of direction and usually greater distance.

There are numerous ways of making clubs of the character indicated. A number made and successfully used have had shafts of rawhide-like an old buggy whip,--of rattan wood, and of rattan wood with a spring steel core, and it is realized that shafts may also be made of rubber, of flat or round spring steel, of coiled spring wire, and of other materials or combinations of materials possessing the requisite strength and resil iency or limberness provided the limberness is not localized or limited in extent but on the contrary, is uniform or distributed from the head to the grip or even to the butt end of the shaft. 7

With the object therefore of producing a club having the property of compelling the user to swing smoothly andthus improve and enhance the pleasure of his game, the

invention consists in providing a golf club with a shaft of such abnormal limberness that the latter will bend or bow throughout the greater part of its length, to a marked degree, when held in a substantially horizontal position, and to an abnormal degree when the club is waggled and when the player checks the back swing preliminary to the starting of the forward or downward swing or stroke, and in order that the invention may be fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, the novelty of the invention being pointed out in appended claims.

Referring now to the drawing, a

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a golf though supported but at one end ,only, to indicate roughly the limberness of the shaft and the degree to which the shaft is bent by the weight of the head thereof, as distinguished from a conventional shaft of wood or steel, whichshows no discernible bend or deflection when held as indicated or even in the course of a stroke or swing.

Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, indicate cross sections of shafts of the same general character but of different constructions.

In the said drawing, 1 indicates the head and 2 the shaft of a golf club, the shaft having a leather or analogous grip 3, but differing from other shafts fundamentally in the respect that it shall possess a marked degree of resilience or limberness, so marked in fact that it will how more or less under the weight of the head, in most types of construction. I have found however, that it may be made of a material or in such proportion or shape, that it will markedly disclose its susceptibility to bending only when swung or wiggled or intentionally bent by application of pressure. The fundamental characteristic of the shaft. however, is limberness so marked or pronounced that the club appears to anyone watching a player making a tee shot or a swing or waggle, to be of arcuate form for practically its full length.

For indoor use primarily the head Will preferably be of rubber, and may be weighted, if necessary, and if preferred the head may be formed integrally with the shaft. A club of this kind will be peculiarly'appropriate for teaching or practice indoors, as any accidental contact with a person or with furniture or walls will not be likely to inflict irreparable damage. A club with a rubber head is also desirable for practice purposes because the shaft of such a club may safely be made so limber that any spasmodic or too abrupt stopping of a fast back swing will result in the head of the club striking the user and thus forcibly reminding him that he is not observing good form in such practice.

An indoor club of course may be made of other material or materials, but for use indoors it will be always preferable to employ a head of rubber or the like, the shaft being of any material or materials suitable for either indoor or outdoor use.

In Figure 2 is indicated a cross section of a solid rubber shaft, and in Figure 3 a shaft equipped or reinforced with a plurality of spring steel wires 4, which may be molded in place. In Figure 4 appears a modified form in which the shaft of rubber or other suitable material is provided with a spring core 5 of fiat steel to supply the requisite strength and resiliency or limberness. In Figure 5 appears a shaft made in the form of a coil spring 6 provided with any suitable cover 7, such as leather, felt, rubber, or a woven or equivalent fabric, the cover in this type being preferably waterproof so that the spring shall be protected against corrosive effects of dampness. In Figure 6 I have indicated a shaft of woven rattan, and in Figure 7 one of rawhide, such, for example, as is used in the manufacture of buggy whips. For regular playing clubs, it is believed that it will be found preferable to always provide a resilient metal reinforcement of some type, as shafts made purely of rattan or rawhide, while possessing excellent driving power, are susceptible to breakage if subjected suddenly during the swing, to seizing or sudden or spasmodic action which will effect an abrupt change or tend to effect such change in the direction in which the head of the club is moving. In other words, for reasons of economy, a regular playing club should, it is believed, he so made as to guard against breakage from treatment of the kind indicated, but it is to be understood that the reinforcing is for such purposes only, as a club of pure rawhide or rattan wood will give as much distance and as good control of direction as the reinforced type of flexible shaft.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a golf club embodying the features of advantage set forth as desirable in the statement ofthe object of the invention, and while I have described and illustrated several types of construction which appeal at this time as the preferred embodiments of the invention, I am aware that the club may be otherwise made without departing from the principle of construction involved or the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A golf club of which the shaft is so limber for the greater part of its length that, in the making of a stroke, it bends in a substantially continuous are from the grip to the head, to such a material degree that the bending action is clearly perceptible to observers of the swing or stroke.

2. A golf club comprising essentially a shaft markedly limber from end to end and a conventional head, the limberness of the shaft being such that if the club is grasped at either end and held, at rest or in movement. at a substantial angle to a vertical position, the shaft will perceptibly bow or bend in a continuous symmetrical arc.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CARL F. MENSING. 

